I Broke Royal Tradition to Become a Politician
Avant-garde, suave and simple, the blue-blooded figure sits quietly in the lounge with an affable, glistening face. Courteous and courted by many, the prince has taken a leap of faith: he left the palace for politics. Meet Senator Lanre Tejuoso, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and the first son of the Osile Oke-Ona Egba, Oba Adedapo Tejuoso. The prince’s path, as Funke Olaode writes, criss-crosses the depth of humanity, commonality and royalty
His gait is graceful. His skin glows. His mien is majestic. And, his mind is expansive. Avant-garde in outlook and suave in taste, Senator Lanre Tejuoso is pragmatic as a politician and meticulous as a medical doctor. As he sits calmly on a sofa, his gentle gaze scanned his environment. “Have a sit, please,” the senator said gentlemanly. His face beamed with a studied smile. He is not just a highflying federal lawmaker. Tejuoso is heirapparent of a monarchy. Empathetic and energetic, his life is far from being couched in the aloofness of palatial fantasies but in the palpable reality of the grassroots. Decades of affluence have not robbed him of what matters most in life. Beyond his opulence and a swathe of achievements in medicine and politics, Tejuoso is an embodiment of passion for the people, focus on the future and ambition for the common good. His grandmother, the late Iyalode Bisoye Tejuoso, was one of the few female industrialists of her era. Wealthy and with tentacles spread across various sectors of the economy, the young Tejuoso found full-fledged wings in her to fly. The young prince first cut his teeth as a businessman under her grandma’s tutelage. Yet, there is something about the Ogun State-born prince that has endeared him to many. It is deeper than the intellect he possesses. “I have to respect tradition because I know the source of my background – royalty. I have to respect that by placing my family in a position of the custodian of their heritage. My father, Adedapo Tejuoso, Osile OkeOna Egba, is a king. I believe I must respect that honour bestowed on our family by making sure I behave the way I am supposed to. The fact that I am in politics doesn’t mean I should be loud. There must be a level of decorum,” he stated.
Unlike many privileged individuals who were born with a silver spoon in their mouth, Tejuoso has learnt to keep a calm head over his shoulder. But what does he owe that to? “My upbringing with my grandmother, Iyalode Bisoye Tejuoso, and my mother helped me,” he simply said. “I was pampered while I was growing up. I was always following my grandmother who was a big-time trader, industrialist and an estate developer. This engendered an entrepreneurial spirit in me because by the time I graduated, I was already trading in importing chemicals and exporting cocoa for her.
“I thank God that one did not derail or got easily carried away because going to medical school wasn’t the easiest and with the kind of pampering (I got) at that time and for one to succeed in medicine at that time I believe the grace of God and the ability to take life seriously helped me. Again, my father was a disciplinarian and was able to monitor and manage the excesses that could arise from my being pampered. My father, Oba Dapo Tejuoso, was the main factor in shaping that aspect of my life.”
The name Tejuoso resonates in the South-west and beyond. Has the name opened doors for or shut doors against him? It must be a mixed-bag of experience being a prince, no doubt as he explained: “I believe growing up the name shut doors more than opened them for me. Because in most cases, when you are doing what your mates are doing – trying to seek some support in business – there is an impression that you don’t need help. And even when I went into politics I wanted to raise money nobody believed that they could give me anything. They wondered why should I come and struggle with them. I got fed up and refused to meet anybody. My father didn’t make it easy for me either. This is because he decided that he was not going to put his money in politics. I was practically on my own then. For me, it is not a burden to be a Tejuoso. It makes you more creative and put you on your toes to be the best.”
To his credit, Tejuoso is like an old wine that tastes better with age. He always looks radiant. You will be pardoned if you assume he is just 40 years old. The secret of his good looks? ”As a medical practitioner, I practise what I preach. We tell our patients how to live a successful, healthy life. We know the dos and don’ts for you to stay healthy. And once you don’t overdo things, you should be able to maintain a fairly healthy lifestyle,” he said matterof-factly.
The blue-blooded politician is considered the first person in his royal